I thought we had been to every children’s museum within an hour of Raleigh, but I was mistaken! We recently visited the Children’s Museum of Alamance County and it was ADORABLE! It reminds me a mix between Marbles and The Playhouse Children’s Museum with it’s village-like play houses, but it also boasts a great artist workshop and outdoor play area as well!
Building Zone
The very first exhibit you’ll see when entering is the Building Zone. My 3 year old boy was in heaven and didn’t want to leave. Trucks and construction are right up his alley. Here you can build with legos, wooden blocks, and the foam pieces that you’ll find setup at Moore Square on weekdays. Unfortunately during the pandemic they had less blocks than usual and had removed the wooden bocks and small legos completely. But there were still lots of other things to build with!
Health Center
After building, we moved on to the health center. It contained a dentist office, baby nursery, giant operation game, and diagrams and models of the human body. We were able to look through a microscope, check our heart rates, and look at x-rays up close. It was a fun spot, and it made us want to buy the Operation Game when we got home!
Science Adventure
In the science adventure section we were able to test the laws of gravity by building our own ball ramps and racing cars on a downhill slope. There were also some fun house mirrors and a play mat so you could drive your cars around town.
Artist Workshop
The artist workshop will delight all children who love to craft, paint, and pretend. The museum supplies all of the materials needed to make a daily craft, and you are welcome to take your creation home with you. On Fun Fridays they also have a story and snack to go along with the craft. It sounds like a wonderful way to spend your Friday morning if you live close enough to visit weekly!
My favorite part was the glass box in the middle of the room where you can paint on the walls. It was exciting to see your work of art from both angles, and we didn’t have to worry about making a mess! The space is designed with a drain in the middle of the floor so staff just has to hose everything off at the end of the day!
In the Artist workshop you will also find some ways to make musical and theatrical art as well. There is a performance stage setup so children can put on their own shows. Pre-Covid they had a box of dress-up costumes, but they are currently removed since cloth items are harder to sanitize between use.
Jane’s Café
In the middle of the museum you will find an old 50’s retro diner. The kids can roleplay everything from cooking the food, running the cash register, and serving guests. This was a great spot for parents since we could just sit at the bar and have the kids serve us! Our waiters kept the food coming, but charged us a fortune! 😂
Village, Garden, and Mill
At the end of the museum is a small village with a house, truck, garden, post office, train station, and mill. Children can harvest crops by hand or with the tractor, pretend to drive a truck, play on the train table, practice delivering mail in the post office, and try their hand at quilting. My boy loved the trains and truck, while my girls enjoyed moving the “cotton balls” with the tractor.
Wobble and Roll for 2 and under
Similar to other children’s museums in the area, there was a separate baby play area for children age 2 and under. I was a little sad since my youngest just turned 3 a couple weeks ago, so I no longer have a kid that falls into this category. But it looked like a great area for babies and caregivers to sit back and relax. There was a small playground, soft play mats, and some Rody bouncers for the kids to enjoy.
Outdoor Playground
The outdoor playground contains a climbing dome, model train, music garden, and giant water table. The water table was off during our visit, but there’s a water wheel at the beginning of the river that the water will flow over. They have some shade sails over the playground so it looks like it would be a fun place to visit in the warmer months!
Admission
You can’t beat the price of this kids museum. Everyone pays $5, but babies under 1 are free. Good news is that they are a part of the ACM reciprocal network, so if you are a Marbles Kids Museum member you get in half off!
Honestly I was very happy with our visit. We spent two hours at the museum, but probably could have stayed longer. The front desk told us our admission was good all day so we could leave and come back, but we ended up heading home after lunch instead of returning.
If you drive out that way, make sure to visit downtown Graham for shopping and dining. There’s a super yummy creperie, and lots of cute shops to explore in a quaint downtown setting.